10 Questions with ... Kev "Da Flyin' Hawaiian" Stockbridge

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

After a failed attempt at being a Chippendales dancer, I decided to pursue plan B -- radio. I attended the Walter Cronkite School of Broadcast Journalism at Arizona State University. Upon graduation, I got my first "real" radio job working at Regent Broadcasting's WVEL-A/Peoria as "Brother Kev." From there, I worked in a variety of formats from Classic Rock to Top 40 to Active Rock. I spent six years in Peoria, where I moved up the ranks from overnights to evenings to middays and earned some awesome numbers in the process. I'm having a blast doing what I always wanted to do. Just ask my mom, who still has the boxes and boxes of tapes of when I used to practice being a DJ in my room with my classic Sharp GF-5454, which I still have. It's the closest thing to being a rock star without having to have any musical abilities.

1) How would you describe your first radio gig?

It was awesome! I did weekends for Regent Broadcasting's Gospel station WVEL. It was literally a closet that was converted into a studio. It was the only studio that still used carts! I learned a lot quickly.

2) How would you describe the radio landscape in your market?

Bloomington is a college town, pure and simple. Its home to Indiana University. It's a little odd. We do a lot of promotions with the college, but at the same time we also try to cater to the locals. Between us and our sister station WHCC we pretty much have a lockdown in this market. Mainly because we are stand-alones. Our only competition is Indy stations that barely bleed into the market.

3) What makes your station unique? How would you compare it to other stations you've worked at?

What really makes this place unique is that Artistic Media Partners is a family-run business, which is a luxury that you don't find too much in radio today. Our CEO is also the GM. It can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. We get stuff processed a lot faster, meaning that usually we don't have to wait on corporate to make a decision. As for comparing it other stations I've worked for in the past, well, we don't really have any competition radio-wise. Mainly, our competition is other forms of media -- for example newspapers and magazines. In the past it was always "What are the other guys across the street doing?" Now, it's "How can we be the trendsetter?" We are constantly trying new things and seeing if they work. If it does, great. If it doesn't, then we figure out another way to succeed. It's almost like working in a test market.

4) Are you wearing more "hats" than you have in the past?

Most definitely! Working in a small market like Bloomington, IN, you get to do a lot. There really isn't a budget for a promotions person, or a production or a web person, so it's up to the staff that you do have. Let me tell you: I've been learning a lot and wouldn't trade it for the world.

5) What is the most challenging part of the job?

This is an easy one. It would have to be budgets. We're small market, and sometimes it can be rather challenging getting things. So we have to be creative. We have to come up with new ways to get the promotions our listeners want. Thank God for barter and trade.

6) What's the coolest promotion you've been involved with recently?

It would have to be the Captain's Assistant with Captain Morgan. We teamed up with Captain Morgan to hook someone up with an internship at the local Captain Morgan distributor. We had a huge on-air and web campaign, then chose the top-five candidates. We had the Captain from all the Captain Morgan commercials come to Bloomington and do an "Apprentice"-style selection with the candidates. The winner was whisked away with a VIP weekend getaway to Chicago to see the Cubs, plus hotel and limo. The winner is now the Captain Morgan representative here in Bloomington.

7) What artist would we be surprised to find on your iPod?

Kenny Rogers. I'm addicted to "The Gambler" and "Islands In The Stream" right now. Don't tell anyone, please. My street cred would suffer.

8) If you could add one full-time position to your budget right now, what would it be?

This is easy. Definitely a pop culture Web Design specialist. I would definitely want someone who knows how to make a site user-friendly, but cool and cutting edge at the same time. Someone who is on top of the latest web trends, especially in social media, and can make daily updates. Plus they have to know how to create a site using Flash. Flash sites are SWEET!

9) What music do you listen to when you're not working?

I grew up on an Island. I LOVE me some Dub Rock. Pepper, 311, Sublime, Marley, Rebeloution, Ziggy and Ballyhoo, to name a few.

10) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?

It's fun, pure and simple. It's one of those industries that you never know what to expect. It changes day-to-day. One minute you could be interviewing Snoop and the next you could be Stuffing a Bus. It's constantly changing, which is key to someone like m,e who has been unofficially diagnosed with A.D.D.

For someone vacationing in your market, what one thing would you say they "must see?"

The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. It's the only Tibetan Cultural Center in the U.S. The Dali Lama's brother started it back in '79. Every time his Holiness comes stateside, he stops in Bloomington. Even better is that it's located right next to a golf course. Ask Bill Murray about it.